I know that taste… A US court has recently ruled, in the case of New York Pizzeria v Ravinder Syal that a restaurant couldn’t claim trade mark rights over the taste of one of its pizzas. A ‘mark’ is entitled to trade mark protection only if it denotes the source of the product or service…
DetailsYou may be aware of registered trade marks. You may have even registered some in the UK or Europe. But have you registered any in China? If you make and sell footwear then there is a good chance that your manufacturing is done in China. You might even sell in the country. If you do,…
DetailsICO Fines NHS Surrey In July, the Information Commissioner’s Office (the ICO) fined NHS Surrey £200,000 as a result of NHS Surrey providing at least 1,570 computers with hard drives containing personal data to a contractor for erasure/destruction without properly monitoring the contractor. The contractor was permitted to sell on the computer hardware after having…
DetailsIt is now a well-established practice for many brand owners to secure registered trade mark protection, at least in their key territories of business. Indeed, it has also become standard practice to register various domain names incorporating those trade marks and/or close variations. However, it is less common for brand owners to register trade marks…
DetailsWhat is Briffa DesignProtect? DesignProtect is an innovative service uniquely offering cost effective legal insurance for all your designs which you can log with us. Whether you design textiles, fabrics, prints, garments, footwear, accessories or 3D objects, you will find this service vital to your business. What types of situation does it cover? The…
DetailsSmall Claims Track for IP Disputes Goes Live At the beginning of October, the new small claims track for IP disputes was rolled out. As with small claims for other types of dispute, the idea is to make the justice system more accessible. For example, previously a small claim for £1,000 damages in respect of…
DetailsA slogan is for life, not just for Christmas “Because you’re worth it”. Does that sentence bring anything to mind? To many, it is probably synonymous with L’Oreal. How about “I’m lovin’ it”? Probably makes you think of McDonalds, right? Slogans are used extensively by businesses as marketing tools and can be a powerful way…
DetailsCarry on Camping The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (“IPEC”) recently handed down a judgment in relation to the assessment of damages in a passing off case. The Claimant in this matter purchased a camping business called “Doone Valley Holidays” (“DVH”) from the Defendant. As part of the purchase the Claimant bought the business, the…
DetailsWhen identifying who to sue for intellectual property infringement, generally the company infringing the intellectual property rights is named as a defendant in the infringement action and not the directors individually as a joint tortfeasor (joint infringer). However, a recent decision of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court has indicated that in certain circumstances it may…
DetailsWhen identifying who to sue for intellectual property infringement, generally the company infringing the intellectual property rights is named as a defendant in the infringement action and not the directors individually as a joint tortfeasor (joint infringer). However, a recent decision of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court has indicated that in certain circumstances it may…
DetailsJose Mourinho’s recent move to manage Manchester United FC hit a road bump when it came to the rights in his name and image. Chelsea FC own the trade mark for Jose Mourinho’s name throughout the EU. As owner of the trade mark, Chelsea have the right to stop any other party using the name…
DetailsGoogle attempts to limit the scope of legislative ruling It’s been reported that Google is appealing to the French High Court to limit the scope of the right to be forgotten. The present right to be forgotten is enshrined in case law (Google Spain v AEPD and Mario Costeja González) since 2014; soon to be…
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